The following is the list of the living mem bers of the Academy in order of seniority: All these prizes are generally awarded, ac cording to the wishes of their founders, to such persons, male or female, as live an exceptionally virtuous and laborious life, and are considered as having reached a high level of family, social or morzl perfection. Nearly all prizes are awarded annually: the following conditions are required of the competitors; the action eventually to be rewarded must have been con tinued into the last two previous years. A de tailed memorandum, with approved certificates, signed by local authorities, and giving full in formation concerning the competitor's eventual right to a prize, must be sent to the Chef du Secretariat de l'Institut. Such memorandum must not be signed nor sent by the competitor himself. The latter's name, Christian name and place of residence must be placed at the head of the memorandum. The number of academi cians is 40. Whenever one of the seats becomes vacant, the Academy elects another member to take the place of the deceased. The new mem ber is formally admitted into the corn pagni& at a solemn and pompous meeting; on such occasion each aimmortell wears his green uniform, cocked hat and sword; there is a re stricted number of seats for the public; in fact it is very difficult to get admission; as a rule the audience is of an extremely select and aris tocratic character. The reception consists es sentially in the exchange of two speeches, rather lengthy, between one member of the academy and the *recipiendaire,* the latter de voting his remarks to the virtues, talents and achievements of his predecessor, whilst in his own discours, the other party never forgets to impress upon the new member that the academy has secured immortality for his name, II. The Academie des Inscriptions et was created by Colbert in 1663. It was known first under the name of La Petite Academie, then of L'Academie des Medailles, then of L'Academie Royale des Inscriptions et Maladies in 1701, and finally under its pre sent name since 1716. It was temporarily suppressed by the Revolution and revived when the Institut de France was created in 1795. The Academie des Inscriptions is interested mainly in historical studies and investigations concern ing numismatics, all sorts of ancient documents and inscriptions, living and dead languages. Every year it distributes many priMs to the students and writers whose historical researches appear to be useful. The prix Gobert (10,000 francs, yearly), for instance, is intended to reward the most learned and exhaustive re search concerning French history.* More than 80,000 francs are offered in prizes every year by the Academy for similar worlis and re searches.
III. The Academie des Sciences was also created by Colbert under Louis XIV, in 1667. The meetings were held first in Colbert's li brary and, from 1699 to 1793, in the Louvre. It consists of 78 members; like the Academie Francaise and the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, it was temporarily suppressed by the Convention and revived when the Institut was created in 1795. It is divided into the fol lowing sections: geography and navigation, geometry, statistics, mechanics, astronomy, bot anics, medicine and surgery. The Academy of
Science offers many annual prizes ranging be tween 500 to 10,000 francs. One prize (Prix Pierre Guzman) of 100,000 francs will be awarded to any one who will discover the means of communicating with a star other than the planet Mars, that is to say, who will makt a sign to a star and receive an answer to that sign. Another prize of 100,000 francs will be awarded to the person who will discover the means of curing Asiatic cholera.
IV. L'Academie des was cre ated in 1648 by a famous artist, Charles Le Brun, under the patronage of M. de Chamois, an influential courtier, under the name of Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture. The 12 initial members of that company opened a school (ftcole du Nu) ; later on, in 1656, the king invited them to hold their meetings in the Louvre where they remained until their academy was temporarily suppressed by the Convention. In 1666 the Academie de France a Rome, a school where French artists com pleted their studies, was created by the Acad emie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture with the co-operation of Colbert. That school is located at present in the Villa Medicis; the Ilcole des Beaux-Arts, in Paris, is under the control of the Academie des Beaux-Arts. There are 51 members in the Academy of Fine Arts which consists itself of the following sec tions: painting, sculpture, engraving, music. Numerous prizes are awarded every year to artists, students, etc. . . . in order to encourage the progress of fine arts and, at the same time, to guide public opinion which is sometimes slow in recognizing the merits of artists.
V. L'Academie des Sciences Morales et Fatigues was created under the name of Classe des Sciences Morales et Politjques in 1795, as one of the sections of the Institute. It was suppressed quietly in 1803 by Napoleon who did not give any reason for his decision. It may be that the inquisitive spirit and criti cisms of that Institution on political matters, social and religious controversies did not please a despotic sovereign; nobody, however, has been able to discover any proper justification of such sudden suppression. It was restored under its present name by Louis-Philippe, in 1832, when it joined the four other academies in the Palais de 1'Institut. It is divided into five sec tions: (1) Philosophy, (2) Morals, (3) Legis lation and Jurisprudence, (4) Political Econ omy, Statistics and Finance, (6) General and Philosophic History The number of Acad emicians is 51. Some important prizes are awarded every year, some of them amounting to 10,000, 12,000 and 15,000 francs; the Prix Francois Joseph Audiffred (15,000 francs), was awarded, in 1917, to Cardinal Mercier, the great unconquerable Belgian prelate who has deserved universal admiration. The list of these prizes increases steadily from year to year, thanks to the generosity of rich individuals. Anybody interested in the prizes awarded by the In stitut de France may have full particulars regarding the conditions, the subjects proposed, etc., by applying to the Secritaire Perpituel of any one of the five academies. The Institute publishes also every year a booklet giving the names of all the members and correspondences of each academy, under the title of 'Annuaire de